Roncalli football spirit alive, well

August 23, 2008|By Dave Vilhauer, dvilhauer@aberdeennews.com

Gone are most of the names from the back-to-back Class 11B state championship teams, but the spirit of the program is alive and well for the Aberdeen Roncalli football team. “One of the things that we try to instill in our kids is that tradition never graduates,” said Roncalli coach Terry Dosch. “We've had good players come and go through the years. It's the responsibility of the younger kids to step up and fill in those gaps.” The Cavaliers, who won state titles in 2006 and 2007, have just six seniors on the team this season, but five of them started last season: Logan Dosch, Logan Wherry, Tyler Hilzendeger, Michael Gjernes and JD Carrels. The other, Jon Gobczynski, will likely see major action this fall. “We'll be counting on him to step up this year on the offensive line,” Dosch said. Roncalli has a solid corps of juniors, led by starters Brett Smid and Charlie Drapeaux, who will once again play key roles. Then there is a stellar sophomore class that will make a major impact. Sophomores Christian Cox and Andrew Holmstrom will battle for the starting quarterback position, and transfer Brendon Hoellein will also be a factor. “We're going to be playing a fair number of sophomores,” Dosch said. “You don't necessarily want to do that, but if you've got to play them, it helps if they have some talent.” Dosch plans on continuing to use some form of the double-wing offense, but noted line play will be crucial. “We won't be particularly big up front,” he said. “We'll be smaller than we've been for quite a while.” Defensively, Justin Briese takes over for long-time coordinator Tim Beck, but Dosch expects his team to feature the same hard-hitting style. “We might have a little bit different look. The scheme is not exactly the same as it has been over the years,” Dosch said. “The one thing that won't change is we will be aggressive and we will attack people. That's got to be our trademark.” Roncalli has always excelled on special teams and that does not happen by accident. “We hope that we're going to be pretty good again,” Dosch said. “It's a third of the game. We've tried to work hard on it. We make sure that we schedule time throughout the week.” Dosch said the Northeast Conference looks to be strong and balanced. While the Cavaliers will feature plenty of young, inexperienced players, Dosch is not about to concede anything. “Our expectation is always to be good,” he said. “I certainly would never limit any group of kids. Our goal is always to win as many games as humanly possible.” SCHEDULE September - 5, Milbank; 12, at Britton-Hecla; 19, Mobridge; 26, at Groton; October - 3, Deuel; 10, Webster; 17, at Sisseton; 23, at Redfield.